


Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing

by bennyfanks



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: AU Where Everyone Lives In The Avengers Tower, AU Where Tony Gets Therapy, B.A.R.F. | Binarily Augmented Retro Framing, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bringing That Back, Peter has a panic attack, Y'all Remember Those Fics From Like 2013, tony stark is a dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 14:07:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17408312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bennyfanks/pseuds/bennyfanks
Summary: "B.A.R.F. is not a very soothing name for a therapy device, in my opinion.”“I think B.A.R.F. is a great name."





	Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing

“Let me get this straight, kid. You want to just ‘mess around’ with my 611  _ million _ dollar equipment?”

“ _ Please _ , Mr. Stark?” Peter begged. “I just wanna know how it works, y’know, maybe make a few improvements to it. I mean, it’s just a prototype, right? And it isn’t like you’ve touched it in awhile.” Tony turned from the coffee machine and stared pointedly at the teenager sitting cross-legged on the kitchen island. Peter stared up at him with big, round eyes and a small pout forming. He wasn’t against whining and begging to get what he wanted with his mentor, especially since he knew that it worked 98% of the time. “I’m not gonna break it, I swear. Don’t you trust me?”

Tony sighed sharply. He rubbed his temple and brought his “#1 Dad” mug-- a birthday present from Pepper and Peter that nearly made him cry-- to his lips, taking a long sip of his coffee. “...Fine,” he conceded. “You can borrow it, got it, bud?  _ Borrow.  _ And if I see so much as a scratch, you’re gonna be polishing my suits for a month, am I clear?” 

Peter saluted Tony with two fingers. “Got it. And while I’m at it, I’m gonna try to brainstorm a new name for the thing. B.A.R.F. is not a very soothing name for a therapy device, in my opinion.”

“I think B.A.R.F. is a great name,” he retorted defensively. “Whatever. They’re up in the lab, should be on Workstation 3, near the window. Knock yourself out.” He waved dismissively, leaving the kitchen and heading back into the living room.

Without another word, Peter hopped off the counter and ran toward the elevator.

* * *

“Somebody stop that guy!” the store clerk called, watching the thief run down the street and push pedestrians away as he tried to escape. Peter swung from the fire escape he found himself sitting on and landed next to the clerk. “Spiderguy, a little help?” he begged. But the blood was pounding in his ears so hard, Peter couldn’t even hear him. He already knew what he needed to do. He took off full speed in the direction of the thief, hoping he could reach him in time.

This wasn’t gonna be a repeat of last time.

He wove through the pedestrians, who all just stood there uselessly and watched the man run by. There was still a considerable gap between him and the man, so pushed himself to run harder than he had ever run before, ignoring the burn in his legs and the tightness of his chest. He didn’t know how much time he had before--

His breath caught when he saw an all-too familiar face walking down the street.

Just as Peter began to gain on the thief, the man tripped on a garbage bag next to a building and fell. A gun skid across the pavement and stopped at Ben’s feet. He hesitated a moment, just enough time for the thief to scramble to grab the gun.

_ Oh no _

The man stood up and lunged at Ben.

_ This is it _

Ben cried out, grabbing at the thief’s arm and trying to wrestle the gun away.

_ I’m too late _

“Hey!” Peter called, causing the thief to turn his head, distracting him just long enough for Ben to be able to yank the gun away. Finally close enough, Peter shot a web at the guy’s face. “Shit!” he yelled, clawing at his face and stumbling backwards into a wall. Setting his web shooters to rapid fire, he webbed the thief against the wall before he could gather his senses.

Ben stood in shock, dropping the gun as he watched Spider-Man stop the man he was sure was about to kill him. Peter turned to him and committed what was probably the biggest superhero no-no. He took off his mask.

“Uncle Ben!” He practically threw himself at him, immediately starting to cry. “Oh my God, I’m so so sorry.”

“P-peter?” Ben sputtered, wrapping his arms around his nephew’s shoulders. “You- I-... you’re the Spider-Man?”

“Uncle Ben, I’m so sorry for what I said,” the boy sobbed. “I didn’t mean it at all. I love you and I’m glad you’re my uncle and I’m really thankful for everything you do for me and- and I’m sorry for leaving like that, you and May were probably so worried and I know I’m probably grounded for forever but that’s okay because you’re alive and that’s all that matters,” he rambled. He felt a hand on his head, smoothing his hair. He looked up at Ben, who smiled softly at him. He opened his mouth to speak.

And then Peter was back in the lab, sitting on the floor, arms wrapped around his torso as he sobbed and trembled. His breaths came out harsh and labored, like he was having an asthma attack. Which was impossible, since his asthma and every other medical problem magically went away after he was bit. He barely registered Tony’s firm grip on his shoulders as he kneeled in front of him. FRIDAY must have called Tony up when she noticed Peter’s meltdown. Great.

“Pete? Peter, hey, you’re alright, kid,” Peter heard faintly. “C’mon, breathe with me,” Tony instructed, grabbing one of Peter’s hands and placing it on his own chest. He took a deep breath and Peter tried to follow suit. But instead he crumbled. Sobs racked his body as he collapsed against Tony.

“I-I should’ve been there!” he whimpered. He only realized how hard he was trembling as he wrapped his arms around Tony’s torso. He held on for dear life as if he was going to lose him, too. “I could’ve stopped that guy, I could’ve saved--”

“ _ Hey _ ,” Tony interrupted firmly. Peter bit his lip to physically stop himself from talking, but his thoughts still ran wild.  _ He could have saved Uncle Ben. He could have apologized for acting like a jerk. He could have spared himself and May so much pain and so much time trying to heal from the consequences of his stupid temper tantrum. _

“Pete,” he continued, his voice softer, “you know as well as I do. There’s no changing what happened, okay? What’s done is done.”

“But i-it’s my fault, Mr. Stark...”

“Nope, none of that shit, okay? You couldn’t have known that anything was gonna happen.” He sighed, smoothing Peter’s hair down. The room was silent, save for Peter’s soft hiccups and sniffles, as Tony thought about what to say to help. Obviously he didn’t know the full story about what happened to the kid’s uncle; just what he gathered from the news and what his aunt had told him. Some dude had stolen a pack of beer and nearly $100 from a convenience store and was running for it when he ran into Ben Parker, who ended up being shot and killed. Spider-Man arrived on scene after the thief had fled.

“When… my folks died, I blamed myself, too. Y’know, maybe if I would’ve just convinced them not to go on that vacation. But I didn’t have any way of knowing that an assassin was gonna be waiting to take them out before they left our driveway. It’s better if we don’t try to change what happened, or think about the what-ifs. You just... learn to process it. And you move on.”

“Wow,” Peter said weakly. “Tony Stark, having decent advice.”

Tony just snorted, ruffling the boy’s hair. “Yeah, you can thank my $300 an hour therapist for that.” That earned him a wet laugh from Peter.

“...I miss him a lot,” Peter confessed after a moment of silence between the two.

“Yeah. I know, bud.” Tony rubbed his shoulder consolingly. “I know. It’ll be fine. You’ll be fine.”

He nodded. His eyes settled on the headset that had been cast off to the side.

“Yeah,” he whispered, closing his eyes. “I’ll be fine.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is a commission for my baby goooorl ily!!!  
> if you enjoyed this, please leave a kudos/comment!  
> if you'd like a commission, hmu on tumblr @bennyfanks and i can give you more info.  
> thanks for reading!


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